"24 per cent of learners in India are women"
Of the 20 million users of its massive open online courses (MOOCs), 1.6 million are Indians. Sonal Khetarpal talks to Julia Stiglitz, VP, Coursera, the world's largest online learning provider. Excerpts:

- Aug 6, 2016,
- Updated Aug 11, 2016 4:35 PM IST
Of the 20 million users of its massive open online courses (MOOCs), 1.6 million are Indians.
24 per cent of learners in India are women, and that number can really grow. What is interesting is that the top three courses women take are Computer Science, Business and Data Science - no different from the top course categories in India. In fact, women feel a sudden rise in their confidence after taking MOOCs. One of the learners Gauri Jha, a mother of two kids, turned to Coursera to overcome boredom and inactivity. She took a few courses such as 'Learning How to Learn' and 'How to Write a Scientific Paper', and was able to submit a research paper related to Bioinformatics to an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) recognised journal. She now aspires to do a PhD.
Of the 20 million users of its massive open online courses (MOOCs), 1.6 million are Indians.
24 per cent of learners in India are women, and that number can really grow. What is interesting is that the top three courses women take are Computer Science, Business and Data Science - no different from the top course categories in India. In fact, women feel a sudden rise in their confidence after taking MOOCs. One of the learners Gauri Jha, a mother of two kids, turned to Coursera to overcome boredom and inactivity. She took a few courses such as 'Learning How to Learn' and 'How to Write a Scientific Paper', and was able to submit a research paper related to Bioinformatics to an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) recognised journal. She now aspires to do a PhD.